Mountain State University's Martinsburg campus on Wednesday celebrated the grand opening of its innovative new 10,000-square-foot Academic Support Center in the Martinsburg Mall complex.
"Mountain State is proud to be able to serve students in all types of learning modalities, from traditional in-seat students to cohorts to hybrid study, independent study and online study," said MSU Martinsburg Executive Director David Shahan. "The growth of our programs is a testament not just to their popularity, but also to our ability and willingness to meet the needs of today's nontraditional lifelong learners."
The grand opening from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday featured remarks from Shahan as well as tours of the new state-of-the-art facility. The event was open to invited guests, business and community leaders, current and prospective students, and the public.
"What we're able to accomplish at the Academic Support Center is to bring a range of new learning methods under one roof," Shahan explained.
Mountain State University's unique hybrid study program, for instance, will benefit from the services available at the new center.
"With hybrid study, we combine a traditional classroom environment with technology such as DVD lectures, films on demand and online video. And then we add group discussions and projects – face-to-face or online – that enhance the learning experience," Shahan said.
David Greek and Bruce Lautzenheiser serve as instructors and learning facilitators for the 99 individual students currently enrolled in hybrid study. They guide students through self-paced 8-week and 16-week courses, and act as liaisons to other course instructors. The instructors, in turn, tap into the expertise of distinguished professors and business and industry leaders around the world.
For example, Peter Elbow, author of "Writing without Teachers" and an emeritus professor of English at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst, is among the lecturers available to students on DVD. "Elbow tries to alleviate the fear of writing for students by sharing his personal struggles," Greek said. "He has a practical way of describing the writing process and encourages students to learn from failure."
Greek, whose focus is on English and the humanities while Lautzenheiser focuses on mathematics, said the new center is user-friendly and adds "panache" to MSU Martinsburg's degree programs.
"In a typical day, we have students in various learning modes – working on papers, submitting assignments, watching lectures, accessing films, getting tutoring, and attending traditional classes," he said. "The visibility of being in a high traffic center like the mall will only contribute to our growth and expansion."
At the Academic Support Center, students can utilize Blackboard, the software system used by MSU to deliver online distance-learning classes. "Blackboard is a one-stop shop," Lautzenheiser explained. "It is the place students can go to get their syllabus, communicate with their instructor and classmates, submit homework assignments and take exams."
With hybrid study, students can choose to take individual courses or complete degree programs in accounting, business administration, business studies, computer science, criminal justice, human resource management, information technology, legal studies, office administration and religious studies.
